In modern cotton production, seed cotton commonly arrives at a cotton gin in compressed modules which are wrapped in plastic. Cotton modules are built on the cotton field by a cotton module builder, a machine used in the harvest and processing of cotton. The module builder allows cotton to be harvested quickly and compressed into large modules which are subsequently tarped and temporarily stored at the edge of a cotton field until they are loaded on trucks and carried to a cotton gin for processing. When the cotton modules arrive at the cotton gin, they are placed on cotton module feeders which are designed to move cotton from delivery to the cotton gin. Cotton module feeders break up or disperse the cotton modules and feed the cotton into the gin. The cotton gin quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds. The resulting cotton fibers are then processed into cotton goods.
At some point before the seed cotton enters and is processed in the cotton gin, the cotton module must be unwrapped or untarped. All wrap/tarp is removed from the cotton module to eliminate wrap contamination in the resulting cotton fibers. In addition, when the wrap is removed, all cotton is left inside the feeder to maximize the amount of processed cotton. Various systems and methods are used to unwrap cotton modules. Such various systems and methods may unwrap the cotton module either before or after the cotton module is placed on the module feeder. Such existing systems and methods often include heavy machinery that must be attached to the module feeder. Such systems may include hydraulic powered systems that lift and rotate the cotton module to unwrap it. Such additional machinery is expensive and massive requiring a substantial amount of space in addition to the cotton module feeder system.
A module feeder system and method used to unwrap cotton modules that is both effective and efficient is needed.